Dec 24, 2012

Japan - New Japan govt hints at joining Pacific trade pact

TOKYO: Japan's new government led by incoming prime minister Shinzo Abe has
suggested it may join a US-backed Pacific-wide free trade deal, a report said on
Monday.

Tokyo has previously shown
interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) but remained
non-committal in the face of fierce opposition from its cosseted farming
industry.

Participation by the world's
third largest economy would give a shot in the arm to a pact seen as a key
plank of US President Barack Obama's pivot to Asia, and a counterbalance to
China's rising regional clout.

Referring to the possibility of
joining the TPP, Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition
partner New Komeito "will pursue the best path that would serve Japan's
national interest", they said in their final coalition agreement, the
Asahi Shimbun daily reported.

The coalition, that is due to
take office officially on Wednesday, also agreed on promoting other free trade
frameworks, it said.

The comment contains a more
positive note on participation in the TPP compared with the LDP and New
Komeito's election pledges before the December 16 poll that brought Abe a
landslide parliamentary victory.

In an apparent move to garner
farmers' votes, the LDP had said during the election campaign it "opposes
participation as long as joining the pact requires preconditions of abolishing
tariffs without exception".

New Komeito had also shown a
cautious stance on early participation in the trade pact.

The day after Abe's poll victory,
Japan's major business lobby Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) urged Abe to
join the trade talks "at an early date".

"We urge the new government
to participate in the negotiations of the TPP at an early date, as we have no
time to waste on the issue," Keidanren chairman Hiromasa Yonekura said in
a statement.

Business lobbies say Japan's
export-oriented economy is a major beneficiary of the promotion of a global
multilateral free-trade system.

- AFP/al

Business & Investment OpportunitiesSaigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Health care and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN 's area.
We are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, if any request, please, contact directly Dr Christian SIODMAK, business strategist, owner and CEO of SBC at christian.siodmak@gmail.com. Many thanks.